Important Financial Aid Meeting for Juniors, Seniors, and their Parents

A very important meeting is scheduled for

Thursday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m.

in the music room

at the Greenbush school site. 

Junior and Senior students and parents should be starting to prepare for financial planning if students are going on for education after high school.  ALL students, no matter what their financial status, should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) paperwork. Gerald Schulte, a representative from Northland Community Technical College, will be presenting at the January 12 meeting to explain types of financial aid available and how to complete the FAFSA.  He will be available to answer questions parents or students have after the presentation.  Information on scholarship resources will also be presented. He will be presenting information that applies to all colleges and universities – not just Northland.

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves!

Greenbush School Art Room

December 7^th, 2011 @ 6:30

Instructor: Debbie Aune

Fee: $5

Want to make a great stocking stuffer for Christmas? Join me as we make hand-made scarves from all sorts of special yarns. I’ll teach you how to finger weave and we’ll use that yarn in your scarf to make it extra special.  If you want to make more than one scarf I will have materials available for purchase.

Pre-register by calling either 782-223, ex. 239 or 222-3310 and mention “Scarves, Scarves, Scarves” community ed. class.

Let's Make Felted Wool Mittens!

December 14^th, 2011, 6:30

Middle River School Art Room

Instructor: Debbie Aune

Cost: $5

Don’t throw those worn, wooly sweaters away, let’s make mittens instead! You know how I love to recycle, well this is no exception. We will turn felted sweaters into beautiful, warm mittens.  Before you arrive to class you must felt a couple wool sweaters.  Alpaca, cashmere, or a blend will work as well. Felting is easy. Felting simply means abusing wool. In other words, in the hottest setting with any kind of soap, wash your sweater in the washing machine and dry it in dryer on high. Or, you can heat up water on top the stove, add some soap and stir, poke, twist and abuse your wool there. If you have a front-load washing machine, you may have to do the stove-top method.

Gather up the following materials:

Sewing machine; you must provide your own machine

At least 2 felted sweaters

At least 15 inches elastic for each pair of mittens: 1/4 inch is fine

Good scissors for cutting material

Neutral colored thread

Buttons for embellishing, optional

Pre-register by calling either 782-223, ex. 239 or 222-3310 and mention “Let’s Make Felted Wool Mittens” community ed. class.

Gator Boys Basketball looking to Gain Confidence

     Snow is on the ground.  Not only does this mean that winter is here but so is another high school boys’ basketball season.   The BGMR Boys Basketball Team began practice on Monday, November 23^rd.  With over 40 boys in grades 7-12 signed up for basketball quantity of players is not an issue.  The coaching staff however will be looking to make that quantity into quality. 

     The Gator Boys are coming off a surprising 15-12, 2010-2011 season.  With only 1 senior on last years’ squad the Gators are hoping that experience and hard work will take them to the upper core of teams in Section 8A.  The Gators however will sorely miss the services of graduated senior Nathan Stanelle.  Stanelle had a remarkable senior campaign averaging more than 19 points and 6 rebounds per game.  More importantly Stanelle provided leadership that will be tough to replace.

     Returning starters from last season’s team are Jakob Anderson, Nick Dostal, Jacquan Rhen, and Tanner Creviston.  Also returning were key reserve players Nathan Hietala, Alex Rhen, Ryan Modahl and Trey Langaas.  Here is a season preview of Gator players and the program:

     Senior players Anderson, Dostal, Modahl and Hietala will be counted on heavily to replace the loss of Stanelle.  Anderson averaged 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  He is a player who can shoot well from the outside and can go inside if he puts his mind to it.  Dostal will be off to a slow start for the Gators as he recovers from a broken leg suffered in football.  Dostal had an amazing summer and the Gators were really looking forward to his senior year.  Dostal averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assist per game last season.  Fortunately for the Gators they hope to get Dostal back by just after holiday break.  Hietala is a streaky player who at times showed flashes of brilliance.  He must gain confidence in himself and his teammates in order to even out his inconsistent play.  If he does Hietala will be a player to watch out for.  Modahl is a lunch bucket player.  He doesn’t put up the big statistics but does the much needed dirty work and is an outstanding team player.  Also working for playing time is senior Trey Langaas.  Langaas plays good defense and has a motor that doesn’t quit.  He will have to protect the ball on offense in order to get into the regular rotation.

     Returning juniors, Rhen, Creviston and Rhen will also be asked to step up their game compared to their sophomore year.  Jacquan Rhen is a gifted athlete who averaged 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.  Deciding how good he wants to become and working to become that good will be the focus for Jacquan.  Creviston had a surprising sophomore year.  He was one of the Gators best defensive players and was an ever present rebounder.  Improving his offensive game and outside shooting will be a key for Creviston.  Alex Rhen is another good athlete who needs to find out how good he can be.  Rhen is a strong rebounder, and decent shot blocker.  Offensively he has the tools but needs to refine his game.  Other juniors searching for playing time will be Nick Wilson, Jacob Randall and Tyler Bentow.  All 3 are great teammates but have small flaws to their game.  If they worked on improving their flaws during the off season they all could see the varsity floor.  The Gators may have a freshman who could see varsity playing time.  Aaron Dostal had a nice summer and showed he has skills to play at the varsity level.  Varsity action is a different level of play and one in which the Gator coaching staff doesn’t like to rush players so Dostal will really need to show that he can stand the physical and mental components of varsity play.

     The numbers in the program are good and because of this there will be vicious competition for playing time at all levels.  This in turn should make for competitive and intense practices.  The coaches know that this will only take place if the players allow it too and work for each second of playing time.

     Many in Gator Nation have been expecting big things from this years’ team.  The coach staff and boys will do everything in their power not to disappoint.  We hope that Gator Nation will be out in full force throughout the WHOLE season as the Gators have a tough schedule ahead of them.  This will be a team to keep your eye on as they seem to be able to put the ball in the basket and they play well together.  With the positive support of the Gator faithful this season will be successful no matter what the record turns out being.  These young men will represent the school and communities well and will be a team that fans can be proud of.

     Section 8A should be a battle again.    Several teams; such as Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Northern Freeze, Kittson County Central, Grygla-Goodridge, Cass Lake-Bean and Fertile Beltrami just to name a few have their eye on the prize and a trip to the state tournament.

     Set your watches as the Gators tip off the season on Friday December 2 when the Gators travel to Stephen to take on Stephen-Argyle.  It will be a tough test but one in which the Gators are looking forward too.

     

Gators fall to Freeze

By:TyLynn McKeever


The Gators were coming off a big win and were looking to bring the momentum into this match. The Gators had seen the Freeze at the beginning of this week and didn’t play so hot against them; they looked at this match to regain themselves. Once set one started the Gators had no energy or spark to get them going. When things weren’t going their way they never found a way to dig themselves back out of the hole. The Freeze took the match 25-15, 25-10, and 25-13. Coach Dahl commented, “We seemed so worried on defense and never got anything started offensively.  We let the Freeze score many points in a row and struggled on serve receive.  Players really needed to step up and make big plays, and we never got fired up to compete.  It was a disappointing match; however, we did make some good strides throughout the season.  This was a growing year, and we learned that we could play really good volleyball at times.” The leaders for the night were Kate Howell with four kills; Shanyce Bishop with four assists; and Tori Mekash with two aces. The Gator Volleyball Team would like to thank all of the fans for all of their support throughout the year; they have been the best! 

Gators Start Off With A Win In Playoffs

By:TyLynn McKeever

The Gators played in the Pig Tail game against Red Lake Falls. The Gators came out fired up and were going to give it their all knowing they had nothing to lose. The Gators won in five; 13-25, 25-21, 12-25, 25-21, and 15-13. Passing was consistent throughout the night which led to many kills for their hitters. They battled hard throughout the whole night and never did give up even when they were down. The Gators came together as a team and everyone did their part to contribute to the win. Coach Dahl commented, “This was a roller coaster game, but the team battled and pulled out the win.  We had a slow start but were able to steal a couple sets.  It wasn’t always pretty, but the work ethic and level of play in the sets we won was sharp.  Going into the fifth set, we managed to claw our way out of a four point deficit and played very controlled volleyball the last eight balls.  Overall, it was a valiant effort and the girls worked tremendously hard.  It was a fantastic playoff win!” The leaders for the night were Katie Langaas (15) and Tori Mekash (11) for kills; Shanyce Bishop (23) and Andrea Burkel (16) for assists; TyLynn McKeever (5) and Kate Howell (3) for aces; and Alyssa Wahl with four blocks. The Gators will be playing the Freeze next. Come and show your Gator support. Gooo Gators!

Gators vs. Freeze

By: TyLynn McKeever

The Gators were traveling to Karlstad to play the last match of their regular season against the Freeze. The Gators knew that this would be no cake walk and that they had to bring their best selves. The Gators had a hard time with passing the ball; and if you can’t pass the ball you can’t set anything up. When the Gators were in a hole, they often had a hard time of siding out to get the momentum going back their way. Coach Dahl said, “We struggled to pass the ball on serve receive and played in a panic mode all night. We just didn’t step up to compete against a high quality team.” The leaders for the night were Katie Langaas (3), Kate Howell (2), and Tori Mekash (2) for kills; Shanyce Bishop with five assists; and Tori Mekash with one ace. The Gators will go into playoffs on a better note and will have the never back down attitude. Hope to see you all there! Goo Gators!